leeches in malaysian borneo

hi,

i%26#39;m travelling to kinabalu,mulu and the rive rcruise near sandakan

we don%26#39;t intend on doing any serious trekking other than the basic amount needed to visit these places.

as i%26#39;m travelling with people in their late 50s who don%26#39;t normally do very adventerous things,i%26#39;m a bit concerned about the leech problem.

1.it seems unavoidable to get bitten by a leech even if you cover up well.is this true?

2. do leech proof socks work?what about other exposed parts like the neck?

3. we%26#39;re staying in a rainforest lodge - is this atleast leech free?!

many thanks for your replies in advance of our booking

leeches in malaysian borneo

In a month of trekking during December %26amp; January, I did not see a single leech.

I visited a number of national parks including Mulu and did jungle trekking.

Don%26#39;t worry about the leech.

leeches in malaysian borneo

i didn%26#39;t come across a single leach when i was in mulu or kinabalu national park. didn%26#39;t stay in the rainforest lodge, so can%26#39;t advise u there

thankyou!

We visited Kinabalu, Danum and Bako on our recent trip to Borneo. We are mid-50%26#39;s and active. We were doing short hikes around the area (1-3km). We were a little paranoid about leeches but everything was fine. We did not get bit.

It did not rain while we were at Kinabalu. We were up at Mesilau and didn%26#39;t see any.

It had not rained for a couple of days when we arrived at Danum and we were able to hike for about a day without seeing one. But it did rain the second day and they definitely came out while we were hiking in the rain. They were mostly coming up from the ground and crawled onto our shoes after it started to rain. I wore leech socks - my husband did not. For me, it gave me peace of mind so I wasn%26#39;t looking around checking all the time and I could enjoy the nature. My husband was looking more. But neither of us got bit. My husband found one on his hiking stick that he laid down for a moment and later one on his shirt. Our guide did get one on his chest. They also crawl up to the leaf edges and look for animals passing by which is how you can get them on other area especially if you brush against any foliage.

The more covered you are, the more protected you are. You are also hotter.They do come up from the ground especially when raining so the leach socks do add more protection. They are pretty simple - thin canvas broadcloth in a bright color with a tie at the knee. This allows you to see them and flick them off. My husband was wearing thick socks up over his pants leg. You need to remember that they burrow into bristly animal hair (like pigs) so they can get through the sock weave.

Around the lodge at Danum, it was fine. There were elevated walkways and no thick foliage so we never worried while we were around the lodge.

I would check with your lodges to find out if they are common in the area when it rains. Danum is notorious for leeches and sold the socks at the gift store. They were not very expensive (16RM) and worth it for the peace of mind. If it isn%26#39;t raining or recently rained, you can probably get away without it them. If it is raining - you might want to get them for peace of mind.

thanks trav4flowers.we%26#39;re travelling in may which is characterised as the dry season but i suppose that just means %26#39;less%26#39; rain.so we will go prepared for the leeches.I have read that applying tiger balm can deter them.

also,the leech proof socks cost $40 if ordered online.They seem cheaper in Borneo.But are they widely available? i.e. in Kota Kinabalu or elsewhere in SE Asia?

We stayed at a lodge in Billit (Kinabatangan River) and they had a very enterprising young lady renting out the leach socks, once they were finished with she would make any necessary repairs and wash them ready for the next expedition.

Very eco friendly and i would rather support this than purchase a pair i will never use again !

We are in the same age group and have visited Malaysia many times. We have seen leeches on walks in both peninsular Malaysia and in Borneo at the Kinabatangun river, but only VERY rarely. We bought leech socks a few years ago but have never bothered using them. We always cover up and use plenty of DEET insect repellent. Don%26#39;t know if it protects against leeches but we have not had any incidents ourselves.

However, when we were doing a walk at the rainforest lodge once, our guide showed us the leeches on the underside of the foliage and demonstrated how they %26#39;jump%26#39; onto skin by coaxing one on to his hand. He eventaully put it back. Strangly, it didnt attach itself to him (not sure why. . .), but did that peculiar over and over %26#39;walk%26#39; that they use for propulsion on the palm of his hand.

The best part was that we passed another group whose guide was doing the same demonstration to a family group (Mum, Dad and 2 daughters) and after we had passed them, one of the young girls let out an enormous shreik. She got a bit too close to the %26#39;demo%26#39; leech and it jumped on to her !

The leeches live in the jungle. You won%26#39;t see them in the lodge. Don%26#39;t get too hung up on the %26#39;problem%26#39;, its mostly in the mind. You%26#39;ve probably got more chance of winning the lottery than getting a leech on you if you take sensible precautions.

I just came back from Kinabalu + Sandakan and can confirm that there are leaches in the area of Sandakan, but I did not get any bites - probably because heavy rains prevented any major hikes?!

Did buy leech socks for RM30 (£6) at the Sepilok Orangutan Rehab Centre, after the guide said she was bitten by a Tiger leech recently and seeing a very colorful specimen on the boardwalk(!)at the Orangutan viewing area. Did not wear them at all, but at least supported the Orangutan program that way!

I did walk around barefoot on the walkways at the very nice Kinabatangan River lodge, where they also had leech socks available for hikes. There were no leeches on the walkways there. Most of tours are by boat anyway.

Did meet another lady that was bitten above the knee during a hike, so I think it%26#39;s worth taking precautions if you are planning to go out in the forest. However there are many leeches that do not feed of humans and I%26#39;ve read some only need to feed once in 6 months!

Enjoy the trip.